St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-02

heavy and supported on three stone legs.
inns table was about two and one-half
feet high, eight feet long, and twenty
inches wide. On looking up I saw a
great rusty iron hook fastened in the
round stone Which forms the keystone
OF the arch. This object is a rack. A
leather covering used to to be put over
It, upon which the victim was stretched.
Rapaillac remained six weeks upon this
table, with his feet and hands tied,
bound at the waist by strap attached
to long chain hanging from the cell
ing. The last ring of this chain was
slipped onto the hook, which I still saw
fixed above my head. Six gentlemen
guards and six guards of the provost de-
partment watched him night and day.
Damiens was guarded like Ravaillac in
this chamber, and tied down upon this
table during the time occupied by the
inquiry and the trial Of his case. DeS-
rueS and Cartouche were tortured upon
it. The Marchioness de Brinvilliers
was stretched upon it stark naked, fast
ened down, and, so to speak, Quartered
by four chains attached to the four
limbs, and there suffered the frightful
extraordinary torture by water which
caused her to ask: How are you going
to continue to put that great barrel of
dark history is there, having filtered, so
to speak, drop by drop into the pores of
these stones, these walls, this vault, this
bench, this table, this pavement, this
door. There it is; it has never quilted
the place. 1t has been shut up there,
it has been bolted up. Nothing has es-
capped from it, nothing has evaporated;
no one has ever spoken, related. be-
trayed, revealed anything of it. This
crypt, which is like the mouth of fun
mel turned upside down, this case made
by the hands of men, this stone box, has
kept the secret of all the blood it has
drunk, all the shrieks it has stlfled. The
firlghtful occurrences which have taken
place in this judges den still palpitate
and live, and
EXHALEa ALL. SORTS OF HORRIBLE
,..,........ blIASIS.
What a strange abOmination is this
chamber; what a strange abomination
is this tower, placed in the very middle
of the quay, without any mOat or wall to
separate it from the passer-by. Inside
the saws, the boots, the pincers, the
hammers which knock in the wedges,
the Kissing of flesh touched with
red hot iron, the spIuttering
of blood upon the live embers,
the cold interrOgatOries of the magis-
trates, the despairing shrieks of the
tortured men; outside, within four
women chattering, children playing,
tradespeople selling their wares,
vehicles rolling along, boats upon the
river, the roar of the city, air, sky, sun,
liberty"
In another memoir, whiNl has been
recently printed, there is graphic de-
ScriptiOn of the death of BaIZac, who
was for many years closely associated
with Victor Hugo.
''The night that I received the an
nouncement from my wife that Balzac
was dying | took cab and soon reached
his door. l rang. The moon was up,
but Obscured by clouds. The street was
deserted. No one came. rang again.
The door opened. A servant appeared
with candle. what do you want,
STRIP she asked. She was CRYING. /
told her my name. She ushered me into
a room On the ground floor, in which, on
a console opposite the chimney-piece,
was a colossal bustiofi Balzac by David.
A wax candle was eburning upon a
splendid table in the center of the
saloon, and which had for feet six
StatuetteS, gilt with the purest gold.
Another woman. who was also crying,
came and said:
He is dying. Madame has gone to her
room. The doctors have not been here since
Gangrene has set in. The doctors do not
know what to do; they say that the dropsy is
couennous dropsy, an utilization. That is
what they call it; that the skin and the flesh
are like lard, and that it is impossible to tap
him. Last month, when going to bed, mas
ter ran against decorated piece of furniture
and tore the skin off his leg, and all the
water in the body ran out. The doctors
were much astoniShed, and since
then they have made puncturations.
They said, initiate nature. But an abcess of
the limb has supervened. M. Roux operated
Yesterday they removed the dressing The
wound, instead of having suppurated, was
is lost, and they have never returned Four
or five have been sent for in vain. Every
one q. It's no use.' He had bad night
7 his morning at monsieur could not speak
Madame sent for priest. He came, and has
given monsieur the extreme JUNCTION. One
hour after he shook the hand of his sister,
Madame de Surville. Since IL o'clock the
rattle has been in his throat, and he can see
no longer. He will not live through the
night. If you wish, sir, Will go and look
for Monsieur de Suryflle, who has not yet re-
tired
''The woman left me. 1 waited for
some minutes. H
THE CANDLE SCARCELY LIGHTED THE
ROOM,
-
its splendid furniture and fine pictures
by POrbuS and Holbein. The marble
bust shows back vaguely in the gloom
like the spectre of the man who was
dying. A corpse-like smell prevailed
the house. M. De Surville entered and
confirmed all that the servant had said.
requested to see NJ. De Balzac.
eve proceeded along corridor, as
cended staircase covered with red
carpet and laden with objects of art
vases, statues, pictures, eredence-tables
and then another corridor, and per-
ceived an open door. heard loud
and sinister rattling noise. / was in the
chamber of Balzac. The bed stood i'm
the middle of the room, mahogany
bedStead having suspensory arrange
ment at the head and foot for the con-
venience of moving the invalid. NJ. de
BalZac was in this bed, his head sup
ported on pile of pillows, to which had
been added the red damask cushions
from the sofa. His face was purple, al
most black, and drawn to the right side,
his beard untrimmed, his gray hair cut
short, his eyes fixed and open. | saw
him in profile, and thus he reSembled
the emperor.
San old woman, the nurse, and man.
servant stood at each side of the bed; a
candle was burning behind the head of
the bed upon table, another upon the
drawers near the door. A silver vase
was placed on the night-table. This
man and this woman stood silent in fear
and listened to the dying rattle of the
invalid. The candle behind the bed
lighted up brightly the portrait of a